I thought the Oilers would go through their growing pains. However, it wasn't supposed to end up with Taylor Hall missing the last 17 games or so for a fighting injury, or Ales Hemsky missing half the season to injury. Before being injured, Hemsky was on a near point-a-game pace, with 42 points in 47 games. Goaltending is still as muddied now as it was in the beginning. Nikolai Khabibulin had a 10-32-4 record and a 3.40 GAA. And no one is for sure if Devan Dubnyk can be a starter, but there's no better time than next season to find out. Jordan Eberle was my pick to be a breakout of the three heralded rookies, and while he did lead the team with 43 points, he also missed a few games to injury. In fact, the top 4 offensive leaders (Eberle, Hemsky, Sam Gagner, and Hall) all missed time to injury, so if all can stay healthy next year, I think there's a light at the end of the tunnel for them. Of course, having the first overall pick in this year's draft won't hurt, either.
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